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Saturday, 5 December 2009

Matt's Pre-Christmas Message

For all you aspiring novelists who read this blog who haven't yet got that publishing deal...chin up. Take faith, the publishing industry may be in a bit of a mess (or a massive mess even) at present, but talent and determination will out.
Keep on keeping on, one and all.
Matt

16 comments:

Aspiring writer that I am (have just survived and completed NaNoWriMo - 59.3k words in 30 days!) my main difficulty is avoiding the day job, plus the housework, getting ready for Christmas and the 1001 other things that get between me and the pc at the moment! Thank heavens for notebooks,(the paper variety!) which accompany me everywhere, ready to jot down the really "good bits" that at some point I'll be able to add to the ongoing story....! (the only problem is, the characters seem to have run off with my plot and won't give it back! :-o )

Cheers for the chin up words Matt. The best thing you have given us though, and Col of course, is TKnC, a place to get our stories read and commented on whilst we work on getting the big'un published. It really does spur you on when you see people enjoying your what you've done!

Hi Sue, the NaNoWriMo is no mean feat - congratulations on making it. I'm with you on the 'trying to fit everything in' before you can get to your writing, I found it a real struggle before I managed to get a deal that allowed me to give up the day job (or actually day-night-earlies-lates job!. having a note book to capture your ideas is a great idea - i just wish i was as organised.

Paul, Lee, Col - it WILL happen.

Sheila, I loved the pic as well and couldn't resist posting it. Glad the glitch that was stopping you posting has been rectified.

Thanks for the encouragement Matt. Can I ask you a question? In your opinion, would an agent get pissed off if you sent out multiple submissions and he knew the mss was sitting on another agent's desk at the same time? I'm about to start firing out my m own mss, and I don't want it to fall at the first hurdle. Any advice regarding that would be appreciated.Cheers.

I'm no where near you guys as yet (Although I do have something down, around 20,000 words that I am playing around with.) but I would just like to say good luck to you all with agents, publishers etc, etc. And a big thanks Matt & Col for TKnC and an extra thanks to Col for inviting me to submit something in the first place and getting me back on track with my writing.All the best, David.

Sorry...Great post Matt to give everyone a big "chin up" and an excellent picture to go with it!

Hi Alan,some agents find it bad form to submit to others at the same time. Be careful when doing this. My advice is to submit singly, but that's just my opinion. Alternatively, you could mention in your intro letter that you have sent it out to other agents - but this COULD turn off a possible agent from reading your work. It's time consuming, but sometimes the longer route is the best route. So...singly is probably best.Have you a copy of the Writers' and Artists' Year Book? This gives guidance on the 'proper' etiquette.

If you have sent multiple submissions and you get a yes nod from an agent, ensure that you tell him/her that you have sent to others and if he/she shows interest, it is probably best to inform the others.

Hi Matt. Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll do what you suggest and send it out to one agent at a time and let them know they're the only one reading it. I bought a copy of Writer's and Artists when I was over in the summer, but some of them don't mention what to do, although some of them do. Guess I'll have to read the fine print, lol.Your help is very much appreciated. The novel is ready to go and I'm giving it one more read through, and making a slight change throughout, as I added a character earlier in the novel, and just making sure everything fits.Thanks again for taking your valuable time to reply.

No problem, Alan. Hey, in the WAAYB there should be an article on the subject of submitting to an agent and what's generally required - it will be in a different place than where it lists all the authors.

Concentrate on getting your introductory letter right, too, as this is sometimes all they base their decisions on. Make it as enticing as you can. Here's to seeing your book on the shelves before long.Matt

Thanks for the support Matt, i have to say that if my chin goes up anymore i'll be staring at the ceiling, but i'm determined to get published in 2010. I finished Fubar, then wrote the sequel in 6 weeks and now i'm on the third. The first two are with LBA, so hopefully i'll get some movement in the new year. Keep meaning to write something specifically for TKnC, but every time i sit down i end up writing more of the novel instead... Have a great christmas, and don't forget to shout me if you're ever down Brighton way!

Great to hear how you're getting on with the writing Paul and hope that Luigi and the gang come through for you. Book 3 already, sounds like they're making you work as hard as I am.By the way - love the FUBAR title.